Don't become used to the quick update, thank my fever instead. I noticed it after publishing the first chapter... As long as I am bedridden, I'll continue writing. Well, I'm obsessed by this story anyway...

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Akemi: Don't worry, thank you for the review and please, don't call me Author-san, I'm merely a fan that wanted this story to be written :) Call me Kora. Maybe I'll have to change the rating to M for the future ;)

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Guest: Thank you, there's so little of this couple around the net...

Thank you all for the follows, the favorites and the reviews, I appreciate averything and honestly didn't expect anything at all.

This chapter may have been better in my opinion, but at the momenti it is the best I can do. Let me know what you think about it and sorry for any mistakes.

Words: 3992.

Enjoy!

02 – Realization

It was night. The deep blue sky was lit by hundreds of stars and the full moon towered on him. It didn't feel mocking as much as relaxing. He was covered in bandages all over his chest. The nurses had first taken care of his hands, that now were protected from infections by the white cloth. Ointment was under it, giving him a soothing feeling of freshness.

Fortunately, his wounds were not enough for the nurses to restrain him in bed. In a normal situation, probably, they would have done exactly that, but there were too much crew mates in worse condition, so he had made a quick escape and no one had voiced against it. His shirt was torn and almost unrecognizable.

Luffy sighed for the nth time, sitting cross-legged on a not damaged roof of the deck, elbows on knees, hands loosely hanging, his back against a low wooden wall. He was thinking of his nakama. The execution was being broadcasted on Sabaody, so they surely had surely known by now what was going on. Nami has his vivre card and they would follow it to find him. But… This meant that they, too, would become outlaws.

Why deny it, let's list his crime of a single day: disobeying orders, attacking a Vice Admiral, burning the symbol of the Organization, freeing a captive waiting execution, blocking said execution, fleeing with pirates, fighting superiors… He was doomed. Oh-so nicely and fucking doomed.

Thinking of Mihawk trying to stop him without engaging made his lips quirk a bit up. But that sort of a smile was soon gone, replaced by distress.

He placed a hand on his eyes. What was he going to do, now? Everything had crumbled so fast, so utterly fast that he hadn't had the material time to properly think about it. Ace's safety had been his top priority. He was unconscious, safe in a bed somewhere in the infirmary, nurses hadn't permitted visits.

He didn't regret a single step he had taken, let's be clear, and he won't ever. But thinking of his dream becoming what it was, a dream, a falling star never to be achieved, never to be touched… His heart clenched. This was so frustrating and hurting, more than any wounds had ever hurt. The way ahead was taking a hard twist.

And his crew… He had signed their fate, too. He was sure their only complain would be about not have been there to help him, he knew they were worried sick. But his own worry was about them. Would they be able to achieve their own dream?

Another sigh and he felt his closed eyes were wet. Tears didn't come out, but they were there, threatening. Damn. He let his hand fall again, looking at the sky and losing himself. Moping definitely wasn't his thing, nope. So, he cleared his mind and rested his head against the wall, watching the horizon where sky melted into sea. The other ships of the fleet weren't there anymore, detached from the admiral one to lose possible pursuers.

Tiredness began to creep on his relaxed form and won after some minutes. He let it, of course, he knew he could trust Marco on the crow's nest to keep watch for the night and for the restless sleep that he was falling into.

Five hours later, he groggily woke up, facing the sunrise. The light was slowly engulfing the still visible stars with orange limbs, stretching and waking up the azure of the sky. Luffy did the same thing, hearing his joints crack for the uncomfortable position he slept in.

He thanked whatever God for not having disturbing dreams but blinked when he felt his cheeks kind of scrunched up. He touched the right and understood that he had cried sometime during his rest. Luffy massaged them and decided to ignore that little piece of knowledge.

Night brings advice. He found himself thinking of ways to reach his goal without being in the Marines. It wasn't exactly impossible, but it was unspeakably harder.

He stood with a sigh, looked up to the crow's nest and noticed Marco still on watching duty. He jumped on its wooden railing, gripping it with one hand and bent on his knees.

"'Morning." He greeted.

"Good morning." Marco replied with a yawn.

"You should rest."

"Someone will take the shift in a matter of few minutes. Do you need something?"

Luffy nodded. "Ace."

"He's still unconscious, no visits allowed. The infirmary is a mess."

"Ok, thank you."

He was about to return to the deck.

"Wait, pops wants to talk to you."

Luffy turned to him again with a serious look.

"Right now?"

"He woke up an hour or so ago and decided to wait for you, he's on his chair."

Marco pointed to the center of the ship where Whitebeard was seated with a lot of IV attached to his arms and some bandages on his bare chest. He was alone, there was no one else in sight on the deck, maybe everyone was still sleeping. Luffy nodded and jumped down, making his way towards the man slowly. The Captain was gazing at the horizon when he arrived, standing in front of him with his back straight and his hands in the pants' pockets.

"Good morning." He greeted first. When he received a nod and his undivided attention, he added: "Your son said you wanted to talk to me."

At the word 'son', the man's lips stretched slowly to a smile.

"That's right. First, how are your hands?"

"They hurt a little, but it's bearable. Thanks for the concern, you?"

"Nothing much." The smile became a grin. "You made quite a show yesterday."

Luffy smirked. "My brother was taking all the attention, I felt jealous."

Newgate broke into his signature loud laugh. "Cheeky brat, I see my son didn't exaggerate when talking about you."

"Oh? What did he say exactly?" The grin turned devious.

"Gurarara… I'd like for him to be safe… For now."

"… Okay, I can leave him. For now. And avenge my reputation by ruining his."

Another loud laugh, but this time he turned serious. "Thank you for saving my son."

The two exchanged looks for some time before Luffy smiled. "I didn't do it for you, I did it because he is my brother, even if not by blood."

"Do you regret it?"

"No." Was the immediate answer. Whitebeard grinned again.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Considering that your other son basically kidnapped me, I'll stay here until my crew finds me. Or you can leave me on an island, they'll come to me eventually."

"Aren't they marines?"

"They weren't at the beginning. I picked them up myself, not from the cadets. So, their loyalty lies in me, not in the Government."

The last word was said harshly. "Why the hate?" Newgate asked, curious. "You were one of them."

Luffy leveled him with a thoughtful stare. The Captain took the hint.

"You can stay here, I won't ditch you on some island. My sons would scold me."

The ex-marine nodded in thanks and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of Ace all this time. You probably saved him from his own darkness."

As the boy did before, Newgate answered: "I didn't do it for you, I did it because I knew he was my son from the very first time I saw him."

Luffy laughed lightly. "I deserved it." He grinned.

And then his stomach had to wake up and grumble loudly. When was the last time he had eaten? It was the breakfast of the day before. A full day without meat. He held his tummy and grumbled while Whitebeard laughed.

A door on the left side of the massive chair opened, revealing Thatch, Commander of the Forth Division. He was a tall man with a brown pompadour hairstyle and a black goatee around his chin. He had a stitched scar running around his left eye. He wore a slightly dirty posh uniform, with calf-long pants, a black belt around his waist and brown shoes.

"Morning pops, Commodore." He nodded at each. "I'm sending Marco to breakfast so that he can take some rest."

The Captain regarded him with a fond smile while he went to the Second in Command, and then said: "Join us for the meal." grinning.

He stood and Luffy followed him, well-behaving. First, he found himself in a huge wooden corridor, then through a wide arch into a galley half-filled with eating men and women. Tables, chairs and stools were all over the room. He felt eyes roaming on his skin but blatantly ignored them. On the opposite side, several cooks were serving crew members with a lot of food and he felt his mouth water.

The pirate had sat on a corner and Luffy was soon joined by a yawning Marco.

"This way, yoi." He said, and the other followed suit.

They were now in queue, waiting for their turn to take something edible. After ten minutes, Luffy took a seat in front of the Phoenix and started eating. The pancakes were delicious, rivaling Sanji's. He would have preferred meat, but knew better than to whine about it. And, after all, he didn't have that much appetite…

Marco finished before him and excused himself to go rest. Luffy nodded and finished his plate, gulping some water and standing up. He wanted to go to his spot on the deck, but was stopped by Izo, that smiled before greeting and asking to be followed.

Some maze corridors later, Luffy was in a little room with a dark wooden desk, a blue bed and a wardrobe.

"This will be yours, pops said to find you a room."

Luffy nodded, gazing at the man. "Thanks."

"I should be the one to thank you. You never wanted to kill me, never tried during the battle. May I know why?"

The ex-marine regarded him for a bit before sighing. "Because I don't like executions, I was angry and decided to be bitchy about it."

"But you didn't know it was Ace's?"

A dark aura surrounded him before he controlled it, making Izo flinch. "Sorry." After the other relaxed a bit, he said: "No, I didn't. My grandfather was smart enough to leave me in the dark. If I had known, maybe I would have wreaked havoc in Impel Down without thinking thoroughly about it."

This elicited a small laugh from the pirate. "A sight to fear."

Luffy grinned. "Obviously."

Izo huffed, changing topic. "You need clothes, I can't watch you walk in those… rags anymore."

"I guess, these were my favorites. Fortunately, my pants and necktie are still useful." He took away his shirt and necktie and tossed them on the chair. "The weather is nice, I will be okay with them only."

"Maybe… Either way I'll see what I can find around the ship or sew something myself."

Luffy smiled. "Thanks."

The cross-dresser nodded and went away, closing the door behind. The boy sighed heavily and fell on the bed. It was comfy and lulled him to sleep before noticing.

He woke up two or so hours later at the sound of a loud bell. Luffy jumped from the bed and opened the door. Several pirates were running into one direction and he decided to follow them. The bell was surely a warning, maybe they were under attack.

When he reached the deck, he saw four marine ships approaching, circling the Moby Dick. Whitebeard sat at his throne without moving, a confident smirk on his lips. Marco was at his side, clearly still tired but with the same grin. Luffy wasn't sure about what to do and got near them.

"We can handle this, yoi." Came the answer to his thoughts.

Luffy sighed, pouting. "Whatever." He sat on the floor, resting his head to the wall, near the chair and observed.

Indeed, they sank all the four ships without much effort. The marines didn't even make it to the deck. Luffy pouted more. He was craving for some fighting. He still felt angry and it was getting difficult to control, a battle would have helped greatly.

"If you want, you can spar with me."

Luffy turned, gazing over the cross-dresser and grinning broadly. "Really?"

"Yeah, I like the way you fight." Izo returned the smirk. "So, join me?"

The ex-marine looked at the wooden corpses, from where the crew was returning, and stood up. "I need to let out some anger…"

The pirate nodded and walked inside with Luffy on his tail. Surprisingly, Marco was behind them, too. They passed past the entrance to the galley and entered the next double doors. It was a room almost as big as the next, with weapons filled rackets on the walls. He saw a blue pipe resting on a corner and went to see it.

"That's Ace's." Izo said.

Luffy smiled. "I guess. This is the one he took with him when he left."

He left the pipe where it had been and turned to the cross-dresser, Marco was leaning on the wall near the entrance with arms crossed. The pirate was watching carefully and Luffy smirked.

"Rules?" He asked.

Izo huffed. "No damages and no killing."

Luffy didn't waste any time, jumping towards him. Izo took his sword and dashed to the right, but there the ex-marine kicked his stomach, sending the pirate flying into the wall. Izo landed on it with his feet and jumped back to Luffy, who dodged the slash directed at his throat and punched him in the same place. The pirate crashed on the ceiling with a hiss, but landed again on his feet to the floor.

"Thank you." Izo suddenly said.

Luffy regarded him with a confused look.

"You're purposely avoiding hitting my face."

"Oh... No problem." He waved a hand.

"May I know why?"

"Well… One doesn't go and do that kind of make-up if he doesn't care… You have pride in it, right?"

Izo smiled warmly before starting again the sparring session. Marco, in the meantime, was thinking. Hard. He finally had the needed clarity of mind to.

He had first heard of this marine from Ace when the newspaper had information about him. It was a little article about a higher-up abusing his powers in East Blue. His brother had been thrilled and had kept taking about him to everyone on the ship. Then the news about the defeat of Don Krieg, Captain Kuro, Arlong had come one after the other and, again, the excitement and pride in Ace's eyes were priceless. After some months, they heard about one of the Shichibukai being stripped of his title because the once Captain Monkey D Luffy had discovered his plan to take a kingdom in his hands. But Ace had not been with them to comment it, he was searching for the traitor that had almost killed Thatch. And, after more months, just six days prior, they had known of his brother's imprisonment.

Ace was now safe on the ship, and they probably wouldn't have succeeded without the help of the marine… ex-marine, he had to remember this. The boy had thrown away his career and his job, the thing he worked hard for years, to save his brother. Oh, he won't ever forget the wild rage that he had felt coming from him when Ace had been brought on the scaffold, nor the face Sengoku had showed when the cape was burnt. He had to admit that had been hilarious and the Commodore had had the guts to bow, thank and resign from his position. He couldn't forget the way some marines had behaved either.

His brother had always said that they weren't related by blood, much like his crew, and that the Commodore was an airhead, happy-go-lucky boy, hungry for battles, strong, smart and really secretive. But what he truly saw right now was rage. And a strength that he didn't imagine in the slightest. He had noticed it, without the ire, on Marineford, but hadn't had the material time nor the will to find out more of its real potential.

Now, Marco was intently watching the boy, trying to grasp it, but he could easily see he was holding back… Caution? A matter of trust? Or simple habit? And what about his devil fruit ability? Ace had once said that he had one, but had never told what kind, only that it was cool. Great hint. True Ace's fashion. However, it had to be something that resisted fire, because facing Akainu one would have much worse wounds… Not mentioning the fact he didn't feel pain when touching his own blue flames.

He huffed, noticing the crowd on the entrance. There were Jozu, Vista and Namur, too. The fishman approached him, never tearing his eyes off the fight.

"He's good." He commented.

"No joking, yoi."

Izo went down with a rather fierce punch on the chest, gasping. Luffy got near him and offered an helping hand.

"Sorry, I lost a bit of my control. You're strong." He said massaging his left arm.

"Of course, I am." The cross-dresser smirked and stood, taking the other's hand. "But you are, too."

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed.

And that had indeed grabbed the attention of every pirate present. They were gaping, as if not trusting what they had just witnessed.

"Hey, marine boy!" Vista shouted. "Your brother is up and visits are allowed."

"Really?!" Luffy beamed, he could clearly feel that some rage had been blown. "Can you take me there?"

"I will, yoi. Follow me." Marco volunteered.

In a matter of ten minutes, Izo, Luffy and the Phoenix were in the infirmary. A nurse noticed the bruises on the cross-dresser and took him away while another one guided them to the patient.

Ace was laying on a white bed in a single room, his sides were bandaged as well as other pieces of skin on his chest and arms. His hat was on the nightstand. As soon as they entered, the nurse disappeared and Luffy punched his brother on the head.

"You damn shitty brother, how the fuck did you end up in that situation?!" He tried to keep his voice low. At least a little.

Ace gripped his head, crying in pain.

"Do you ever try to stay out of trouble?!"

The fire-user tried to stop him with pleading eyes, but failed miserably.

"I'm sorry…"

"You better."

Marco was surprised by the outburst but, seeing the other trembling slightly, put a hand on his shoulder and Luffy turned. He froze. There were relief, grief and something he couldn't pick.

"Calm down, yoi." He said, regaining his voice and giving a reassuring look.

"I'm sorry, Lu, really." Ace took one of his hands and Luffy turned his eyes to him. "I'm sorry."

The ex-marine breathed a long breath before sitting on the side of the bed and flicking a finger on his brother's forehead.

"You made a promise, damn. And there you were, waiting for those swords to cut down your damn empty head." He said in a seemingly calm tone, causing Ace's face to darken. Another long, calming breath. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, now… I'm alive… Thanks to you and the crew." He looked at his brother with reassuring eyes, trying to convey feelings that he didn't have the heart to say with words.

It worked, Luffy's shoulders relaxed, Marco felt one of them under his hand and remembered to take it away.

"Try that trick again and I might leave you there to die." It was a clear joke, but there was also a subtle threat that made Ace flinch.

"I'll be careful." He sighed. "But, you? How are you?" He started studying Luffy.

"In a better shape than yours, as always."

"I can see that… I was talking about something else." Ace's gaze softened. "It's my fault."

"It isn't, don't go and take credit that isn't yours." His tone seemed calm and sincere, but hid something at the same time. "Now take care and heal, then we can talk."

"Lu… Your goal… Your dream… It isn't possible anymore."

"Not necessarily. Don't underestimate me, there are other ways." A smirk this time made its way on his lips.

Ace scoffed. "Right, never underestimate you, could end up killed." He rolled his eyes before looking at Marco. "Thanks to you, too." A smile.

"Don't mention it, yoi." Was the answer.

Ace nodded with a soft smile. "Oh, Luffy, where did you take the keys?"

"Gramps, he used our old code. I tried to hide the evidence with his flames' help, but… Who knows if it worked, Senny isn't dumb, nor are the Admirals." He sighed. "He was crying, right? With you, on the scaffold."

"He was." Sorrow shadowed his brother's face. "He hid from you that it was me to be executed."

It was Luffy's turn to scoff. "Damn geezer, as if he could stop me. But, I guess, better this way… Breaking out of Impel Down would have freed too many criminals."

Ace laughed. "But it would have been so fun, watching you destroy the place."

"You serious, yoi?"

Luffy turned, deadly serious. "Of course. That place is hell. I know what they do to captives."

They stared in the other's eyes without a blink, studying each other. The gaze wasn't changeling, but questioning, as if an interrogation was going on from the Phoenix to the ex-marine through it only. And it was obvious that Luffy wasn't answering anything, he had a confused and deadpan expression. Ace, in the meantime, observed Marco, a little surprised. He knew him enough to recognize interest and curiosity on his face, and that was strange and so rare that he blinked repeatedly.

Ace decided to break the heavy atmosphere. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was getting on his nerves, as if he was a plus in the room.

"What happened to your clothes? And I see you're more muscular than last time we met."

Luffy smirked, looking at his brother. "I train every day, unlike you. Izo made me notice that wearing it or not was the same. Bandages are covering me, anyway."

A soft knock on the open door made the three turn. Thatch was there, waving at them with a bright smile.

"Ace, how are you doing?" He exclaimed.

"Thatch, I'm fine."

"You hungry yet?"

"The nurses brought me something for breakfast, but I'm free to go to the galley for meals." He grinned. "Are you ready? My brother here has my same black hole, if not worse."

Marco arched a brow, skeptical. The boy had eaten normally in the morning, was he holding back even then? Or maybe…

"In the end, I'll be cooking for an entire army…" Thatch sighed dramatically.

Luffy laughed his signature laugh before looking back at Ace. "I should go now, the nurse said you need to rest." He stood and waved as he left the room, followed by Thatch.

"Marco…" The Phoenix turned to the brunette from the empty spot on the door. "He is holding back, isn't he?"

The pirate nodded. "He didn't eat much for breakfast, yoi. He sparred with Izo, too, but seemed restrained."

The other sighed. "He is sulking, then."

After some moments, Marco decided to voice a question. "Ace, why doesn't he use his devil fruit's power?"

He was silent for a bit, increasing his interest. "Because it is too destructive. Maybe on pair with Oyaji. The spar was in the training room, right? It's too cramped for him. At Marineford, they were broad-casting the execution, so he couldn't use it."

Marco's eyes narrowed. "He's hiding it, is it so rare?"

Ace looked at him, holding the gaze with security. "As much as yours, brother."

Surprise was written all over the other's face. "It's a…" It couldn't be…

"… Yeah… A mythical-beats type zoan devil fruit."

Don't eat me up, I didn't put the changing of the devil fruit in the warnings because it would have been no fun. See ya!